Revealed – Why Inter Milan & Italy Defender Was Found Not Guilty In Alleged Racial Abuse Case

Sporting Judge Gerardo Mastrandrea found Inter Milan defender Francesco Acerbi not guilty of racially abusing Napoli’s Juan Jesus due to a lack of clear evidence.

This according to today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews. The newspaper also notes that Italian FA President Gabriele Gravina could still intervene in the case.

Yesterday, Sporting Judge Gerardo Mastrandrea gave his verdict in the alleged racial abuse case involving Acerbi and Jesus.

The Judge had considered all evidence collected by the prosecutors’ office of the Italian FA.

Prosecutor Giuseppe Chine had questioned both Acerbi and Jesus to get their respective versions of events.

And Chine had also looked for any other evidence – video, audio, or testimonies from other players – that could shed light on the situation.

And, based on the evidence, Mastrandrea found Acerbi not guilty.

Why Francesco Acerbi Found Not Guilty Of Racially Abusing Juan Jesus

As the Gazzetta makes clear, Mastrandrea’s verdict does not definitively state that Acerbi did not racially abuse Napoli’s Jesus.

The Judge simply takes the position that there is an absence of clear, dispositive evidence that the Inter defender did utter a racial slur or use any other racially discriminatory language.

Despite the efforts of Chine, there was no such evidence available that could give a clear picture of the incident.

Therefore, it was essentially one player’s word against the other’s.

And this did not constitute sufficient evidence for Mastrandrea to deliver a guilty verdict.

This was the case in terms of Article 28 of the Code of Sporting Justice in Italy. That is the article which concerns racially discriminatory behaviour.

Had Mastrandrea found Acerbi guilty under Article 28, the player would have received a suspension of a minimum of ten matches.

And, the Gazzetta note, there was also no sufficient evidence to convict Acerbi under Article 39 of the Code.

That is the article concerning unsportsmanlike conduct.

Mastrandrea’s verdict does note that Acerbi had certainly uttered insults towards Jesus which harshly provoked the Napoli player.

However, there is not sufficient evidence to decide whether or not these insults may have crossed the line into being “unsportsmanlike.”

Italian FA President Gravina Could Still Intervene

Mastrandrea’s verdict is final, and there would be no room for Napoli defender Jesus to appeal.

However, the Gazzetta report, there is still one possible avenue by which Acerbi could be sanctioned.

That would be if Italian FA Gabriele Gravina were to decide to intervene.

Article 102 of the Code of Sporting Justice does give the Italian FA President scope to challenge a decision by the Sporting Judge.

Gravina has already used his executive power to intervene in a high-profile case involving racial abuse.

This happened when the FA President pardoned then-Inter striker Romelu Lukaku’s ban for the second leg of a Coppa Italia tie against Juventus.

The Belgian had received the ban for a red card in the first leg of the tie.

But there were extenuating circumstances – Bianconeri fans had provoked Lukaku with scandalous racist abuse from the crowd.

So if Gravina were to want to send a similar message regarding the Acerbi case, he could do so.